


Wishes Out of Airplanes

by NekoIzumi



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst with a Happy Ending, BAMF!Shino, Best Friends, Cancer, Fluff, Hurt Uzumaki Naruto, Kiba can be such a potato, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Recovery, SO MUCH FLUFF
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-06
Updated: 2013-07-06
Packaged: 2017-12-17 22:22:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/872603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NekoIzumi/pseuds/NekoIzumi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Naruto would've loved to pretend airplanes in the night sky were shooting stars because he could really use that wish right now. However, he couldn't and as his own strength slipped away he had only one person to lean on for support.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Wishes Out of Airplanes

Kiba grinned like a loon when he opened the door to find his long time best friend stand on this front step.  
“Narutard!” he greeted loudly.  
“Kibling!” the blonde agreed just as loudly and laughed out loud when the smaller male with a grunt heaved him up and carried him inside the house to where the rest of the party was waiting.  
“Look what the cat dragged in!”  
The Inuzuka shot Shikamaru a dirty glare as he without ado dumped the still laughing Uzumaki in the couch.  
“Who’re you calling a cat, ya lazy bastard?” He asked sourly, only eliciting more laughter from their gathered audience. Naruto smirked from his spot in the sofa and stretched out his long legs between Sakura and Hinata.  
“Yeah, who’re you calling a cat, Shika? We all know Kibling here is a mutt all the way from his breath to his fleas and he damn well would lick his own balls if only he could.”  
Feigning a trembling lip the brunet turned towards the chuckling Aburame.  
“Can you pull out the dagger from my back, buddy?” he sniffled. “That one stung a little.”  
“I'm not specialized in stab wounds.” Shino smirked. “Sorry… buddy.”  
“Hey, when did this party turn into a punch-fest!?”  
  
Neji sighed theatrically and patted the sulking dog lover on the shoulder. The sympathetic smile turned evil right in front of black slitted eyes.  
“Ever since we found out you combed your hair like Justin Beaver and sang _‘Eenie Meenie’_ in front of the mirror in nothing but a towel.”  
“It’s Justin **Beiber** and I didn’t-…” The excuse died out when the blonde simply roared with mirth. Everybody laughed the next second when Kiba hauled himself at the loudly laughing whiskered man swinging a pillow with deadly accuracy.  
“You traitor!”  
  
-  
  
As the party continued people eventually settled down in the couch group chatting happily. That is until the Inuzuka pulled out the projector. He raised his chin defiantly at the groans it caused.  
“It’s my birthday!” he hollered. “It’s my call! And these are pictures no one has seen before because the 3 year rule didn’t expire until a week ago.”  
“3 year rule?” Ino asked curiously.  
“Kiba.” Naruto warned seriously. He had a decent hunch as to what the other was up to.  
Not that the Inuzuka heeded the warning.  
  
“The 3 year rule is applied to embarrassing, ridiculous and humiliating situations.” he explained offering the silent Uzumaki a cheeky grin. “It means that photos with such content are locked away for 3 years before we show it because everybody knows that some things need a little time to settle before it becomes funny.” The old projector clicked and then graced the background screen with bright light. A strong hand pushed the picture holder into its socket and then pushed the button for forward on the remote. “Like this one!”  
Laughter erupted when the picture viewer offered then the Inuzuka and Uzumaki up on a mountaintop somewhere grinning at the camera… wearing little else than a red clown nose each.  
“You have no idea what that stunt cost me.” the whiskered man muttered sourly.  
  
Hinata sighed but smiled as she rose to her feet to go refill the snack bowls.  
“You two and your climbing.” she mused. “If I didn’t know any better I'd say you two were mountain goats incarnated.”  
“Hinata, darling.” Naruto smirked. “Your boyfriend **is** a Capricorn, a horny buck in every aspect of his being.”  
“I resent that!” the brunet in question shouted while pushing the button again.  
  
“Whoa… that’s one hell of a picture.” Sakura mumbled lowly in the following silence.  
“I had forgotten I took that photo.” the Uzumaki murmured. “Good times.”  
It was a picture taken during one of their climbs on Gods knew which mountain. It was a blood red sunrise where the man in the picture was nothing but a black silhouette with razor-sharp mountain peaks spreading out before him. The snow glittered beneath him in pinks, orange and soft reds, giving him the air of walking towards the horizon and a wonderful future… as if he was never to come back. Kiba frowned while staring at the photo. He tilted his head a little to the side.  
“That guy is too big to be me.” he said hesitantly. “How did you take a picture like that of yourself?”  
Naruto shrugged rising to his feet to help Hinata in the kitchen.  
“I must've accidentally set it on timer or something.”  
  
“You know, you could sell that picture to magazines.” Neji said, his ‘money-sense’ tingling. “I'm sure you'd make a small fortune on it.”  
The blonde though didn’t answer, only smiled and went to the kitchen. He mentally smirked when shouts came from the living room as the next photo came up… one of a particular Inuzuka mooning at the camera.  
  
“How are you doing, Hina-chan?” He obediently pressed a kiss to a pale cheek when presented with one. The Hyuuga smiled sweetly at him but didn’t stop slicing lemons for the drinks.  
“I'm fine, thank you.” She glanced at the tall blonde when he automatically reached up for a bowl in one of the cupboards. “He’s really looking forward to your next trip.” she said softly. “Kiba has been talking about that hill as long as I can remember.”  
“It’s not a hill, Hina-chan, its K2.” The big man winked at her. “But I guess you call it that to mess with Kibling, right?”  
Her smile was too innocent for him to buy it… but then she sighed.  
“I know you want to wait a little longer before you go on your next adventure what with your job and all, but please try to go with him soon. He **really** wants to climb with his best friend again.” Pale eyes gave him an apologetic look. “And **I** want him to settle **down** soon.”  
As she left him in the kitchen Naruto swallowed hard and looked out at the window at the dark night sky. The letter in his pocket seemed to burn through to his skin causing tears to fill blue eyes. He wanted so badly to climb with Kiba too.  
  
-  
  
Two and a half months later…  
  
-  
  
Shino calmly watched the blonde from across the room. He saw how uncomfortable the other was knowing he was there and it was only through days of wondering what the hell was going on, and then guile that he had gotten the other to show up here at all. Turns out Naruto found every excuse in the book not to come to the get-togethers he knew the raven would show up at. At first the Aburame hadn’t noticed anything but then through discreet questions he found out that the blonde came to all parties that Shino couldn’t attend. So tonight he “hadn’t been able to come”… until the very last minute.  
  
He gritted his teeth when the whiskered man greeted everybody happily but then suddenly had to use the bathroom before saying hi to the silent shades wearer in the corner. Although friends since way back the two hadn’t really been close so it was a confused Aburame that had wondered what was going on. It hadn’t taken him long to find out the answer… sadly.  
So he made his move the second the permanently tanned man came out of the restroom.  
“We need to talk.” he said lowly.  
Naruto licked his lips nervously looking everywhere but the man in front of him.  
“I eh…” he mumbled. “I have to-”  
“ **Now** , Uzumaki.”  
Nodding in defeat the two of them went out on Sakura's balcony, the raven gently closing the door behind them. This wasn’t a conversation that he wanted the others to listen in on.  
  
“Listen, Shino, I'm sorry I've-” the blonde began but was cut off.  
“Save it.” the paler man sighed. “I know you well enough to know you'd face me if something bugged you rather than avoiding me so I figured your reasons to stay clear of me were extreme.” Hidden eyes watched the larger frame calmly. “You’re avoiding something **related** to me.” His voice turned gentler. “Like for example… my professional expertise?”  
  
The air seemed to leave the permanently whiskered man as he simply collapsed in a chair. His eyes suddenly looked so tired, so devastated… so haunted.  
“I'm sorry.” he whispered. “I didn’t mean to be rude.”  
Shino squatted in front of the other carefully taking big hands in his. They were too cold for his comfort.  
“What did the doctor say?” he asked softly.  
Naruto swallowed hard.  
“I- I don’t know.” His voice cracked. “I can’t remember.”  
“Do you have any information at home, any notices, any medical records?” came the careful question.  
“I have a letter in my back pocket.” The voice could barely be heard at all. “I don’t dare go anywhere without it.”  
“Can I see?”  
  
Still holding on to one hand the raven unfolded the crumbled paper and read.  
“Oh god…” he pressed out. How could life be so unfair?  
Desperate hidden eyes turned to empty blue ones. “Please tell me you started the treatment.”  
  
The way the Uzumaki suddenly broke down and simply cried had the raven desperately wrapping his arms around the sobbing shoulders. The way the whiskered man clung to him broke the shades wearer's heart.  
“I'm scared, Shino.” The grip tightened. “I'm too scared to walk through those doors because I don’t know if I’ll come out again.”  
Never before had the Aburame cursed and blessed his career as an oncologist before. No wonder the blonde had avoided him so fiercely, he had known the paler man would **see**. Holding on as hard as he could Shino whispered calming words into a sensitive ear.  
“I'm here for you and I’ll help you.” he murmured soothingly. “We’ll get through this, together.”  
  
As Naruto cried helplessly the Aburame wondered how life could punish such a joyous and gentle soul like the Uzumaki this way. He, who had always been healthy, stayed away from drugs and alcohol, who hadn’t smoked a single cigarette in his entire life, who cared about others and helped everybody around him if only he could… had been diagnosed with severely advanced inoperable cancer.  
  
-  
  
Having allowed the devastated blonde to forget for that one night at the party Shino took charge the very next day. He set his apartment up for leasing, took an indefinite time off from work… and moved in with Naruto.  
The blonde didn’t say a single word when they got in the raven’s car and drove to the hospital, he didn’t speak when they got out… but ten feet from the door he froze to the ground trembling as he saw the automatic doors open and close around people. He flinched when the paler man carefully took his hand.  
“We can take a coffee or something first if you'd like.” Shino said lowly. “But you **will** walk in there today.”  
“I'm scared.” Cobalt blue eyes didn’t seem able to stop staring at the front entrance. “I shouldn’t be but I am, I'm scared of going in there.”  
“You’re brave for having come here at all. And you'll get braver.”  
Desperate for any form of comfort the Uzumaki turned to his company.  
“You think so?”  
Shino smiled and offered the hand in his a gentle squeeze.  
“I know so.”  
Having hesitated, taken a deep breath, hesitated again… Naruto took one step forward, and another. And another.  
Petrified but with a warm hand holding his he walked into the clinic.  
  
-  
  
Somehow, in one way or another, they managed to keep it a secret from the others but the only reason Shino kept his mouth shut was because that’s the way the Uzumaki wanted it. He struggled against the disease every step of the way and when he dropped in weight he had to struggle even more. He wore thick sweaters to the few parties the Aburame allowed him to attend on medical basis but no matter how he tried, the others noticed the changes. He cried endless bitter tears when he started losing his hair and only the complete shock of seeing the shades wearer come home with a shaved head one day could lure a smile out, the first in a too long time. Pink cheeks along with the explanation of them going through this together had been enough for him to at least for one day let go of his worries.  
  
But what tore him apart wasn’t the loss of his hair, the cancer or the chemotherapy that turned him into a walking stick figure… it was the pressure from Kiba.  
Confused and hurt he simply snapped during the next get-together when he saw his best friend talk lowly to the shades wearer in a corner.  
“What the hell is going on!?” he yelled, causing everybody there to stare at him. “You hardly return my phone calls but you let Shino move in, you barely come to parties but you and your bromance over there go bald together!?”  
“Kiba, I-” the blonde began but he was interrupted.  
“We’ve been talking about conquering K2 together for years but now all you see is Shino! Stop being such a selfish bitch and keep your promises, ya dirty fag!”  
That was the first time ever the Inuzuka used Naruto's sexual orientation as a mean to harm… and it cut deep.  
  
The Uzumaki didn’t say a single word but his hands trembled when he calmly went to the hallway, put his shoes on and left the apartment. Still being angry with more to say the brunet turned around… only to fall back when he was punched square in the face by a livid Aburame. Grabbing the stunned Inuzuka by the collar of his shirt he more or less spat the words in his face.  
“He’s got cancer, you bloody retard!” he snarled. “He can barely climb a flight of **stairs** without needing oxygen so there's no way he'd survive climbing your fucking mountain! Don’t you understand that every day since he started his treatment is a battle won!? He's fucking dying in front of me and you run around whining about your stinging pride? Grow up, mutt!”  
Having stunned everybody there Shino tch’ed and left the apartment.  
  
The complete lack of emotions on whiskered features scared him when he slid in behind the wheel.  
“Take me home.” came the low mumble. “I want to go home.”  
The shades wearer only put the key in the ignition and started the engine.  
  
-  
  
Naruto lost his spark after that night. He was too tired from the cell toxins to do much of anything and in the end he was completely bedridden. Devastated Shino watched how the man he had come to love faded before his very eyes. Never before had he felt so completely useless.  
But he knew that now the responsibility of the decision-making lay with him and not the blonde.  
  
“Naruto.” he said softly not to grate on the former blonde’s fragile mind. “I've arranged for you to stay at a room at the hospital, you need care that I can’t provide for you here at home.” A pale hand gently caressed a hollow whiskered cheek to soothe away the worry in exhausted azure eyes. “Don’t worry.” he mumbled. “I’ll be right there with you, alright?”  
“I don’t want to.” The whisper was broken even to the raven’s ears.  
“You have to.” came the gentle answer.  
“Why?”  
For the first time tears ran down pale cheeks as Shino removed the glasses to let dull blue eyes see. He was scared now, as scared as he had ever been because he wasn’t sure he'd win this time.  
“Because I want you to live.” he whispered. “Because I **need** you to stay with us, with **me**. Stay, if not for yourself then for **me**.”  
Soft lids having once been adorned with golden lashes slowly fluttered closed.  
“…okay.”  
  
-  
  
Having had no choice but to go back to work with the usually blonde man in safe hands Shino found himself walking a thin and dangerous line between impossible dreams and burnout. He worked himself exhausted not to think about the whiskered man and the pain he went through and yet as soon as his shift was over he returned to the Uzumaki's side. They played games together, they watched series like _‘2 ½ Men’_ and _‘The Big Bang Theory’_ on TV, they talked about anything and everything between heaven and earth… and oh so slowly the light in those endlessly cobalt blue eyes returned. Naruto listened to how the paler man read one book after another out loud to him, he tried to eat more when good-natured taunting made him feel scrawny… he tried keeping what little he ate rather than throwing it up.  
  
For every time he came to visit, for every page, for every minute and for every time the raven smuggled apple-jellies past the nurses he appreciated the paler man’s company a little more. And that’s why he offered the Aburame a tired smile when he came into his room after yet another hard day of work.  
“Go home, bug boy, you look like crap.” he croaked out. “Which says something coming from me.”  
“Why, thank you.” came the grumpy answer. “You look like a Chippendale you too.”  
“No, seriously.” Naruto weakly raised his hand to pat the other man on the arm as he came to the bedside. “You need the rest… right?”  
“I'm not that tired that I can’t read a chapter of ‘Naughty Nurses’ to you.”  
  
The whiskered man chuckled at the Aburame's nickname for _‘The English Patient’_ , the novel they were currently on. There had been a few scenes here and there where Shino's ears had burned while he read but it hadn’t stopped him. If any he had stepped completely out of his comfort zone and lived himself into the sultry descriptions of passionate lovemaking. He had made the Uzumaki apply a **5** year rule to the one time when he hadn’t noticed the nurse come in to check on the patient.  
What the permanently tanned man didn’t know was that Shino would gladly tell the world tomorrow as long as Naruto stayed alive to let that rule expire.  
  
“I know you're not but I can see you're tired.” He smiled warmly at the other silently laughing at how funny the raven looked in cropped hair since it was starting to grow back. “Go home, get some rest and when you come tomorrow you can read two chapters to make up for it.” He gave pale fingers a gentle squeeze. “I promise I’ll still be here tomorrow.”  
“How can I trust you?” came the low question.  
“Because you're my doctor.” Naruto grinned. “You should know.”  
  
-  
  
It was a rather grumpy Shino that opened the door with a tad bit more force than needed, anything to make the banging stop.  
“What!?” he barked… only to raise an eyebrow at his stunned visitor. Sighing he calmly rested a shoulder against the doorjamb. “What do you want?”  
Kiba swallowed hard peeking over a strong shoulder inside the apartment. “He’s not here.” the Aburame said monotonously. Black slitted eyes widened.  
“Is he-… Shino, did he-…?”  
  
For a minute he let the Inuzuka suffer thinking something else but then he shrugged.  
“He’s at the hospital.” Cold eyes spared the brunet a glance. “Cancer patients tend to end up there sooner or later.” He absentmindedly wondered if the broken nose was his merit or Kiba's own.  
“Will he be alright?”  
The raven sighed and nodded for the other to come in, this wasn’t a conversation he wanted to have on the threshold. Apparently he wasn’t going to get that rest after all it seemed.  
Kiba looked so small when he sank down on a chair in Naruto's kitchen, paling a little at the sight of vacuum packed syringes in a plastic bag on the table. “How long has he been sick?” he pressed out watching how the other man prepared some tea for himself.  
“He started getting treatment 6 months ago so some time before that. The cancer is aggressive so it can be anything from months to weeks.” the Aburame said calmly. “He probably went to the hospital when it started to get painful to move.”  
“He never told me, his best friend.”  
“He didn’t want you to know.”  
“Why?”  
  
Shino didn’t think the other should sound as hurt as he did. Instead he sighed again facing the brunet but remained standing with a hip against the counter as he sipped his tea.  
“Because you were excited about climbing mountains while he had to use the elevator just to get to your floor. It hurts when he had effortlessly run up the stairs before. He didn’t want to take your dream from you by saying he might never be able to join you on that mountain top.” The raven rubbed his face tiredly. “Kiba, he was diagnosed before your birthday but he was too scared to start chemo on his own, which probably worsened his situation greatly. It was only when I literally held his hand that he managed to gather enough courage to go through all this. He's fighting to survive… and you called him a selfish fag. He broke down and for a while there I seriously didn’t think he'd make it.”  
“I-… I don’t know what to say to him, Shino.” Strong shoulders shook when the Inuzuka lowered his head and cried openly in front of the other man. “I don’t want to lose my best friend.”  
“Then don’t. Go visit him tomorrow. He's stronger now than a week ago and a week ago he was stronger than a month ago. Bring Hinata if you want.”  
“She tells me to apologize.”  
“She's right.”  
“Tomorrow?”  
“Tomorrow.”  
  
-  
  
Tired eyes turned to the door… and blinked when a rather unexpected visitor peeked inside. He smiled weakly at the dark-haired man.  
“Shikamaru.”  
“I would’ve come sooner.” the Nara mumbled as he put the vase down on the nightstand. “But work decided to be a pain in my crack and sent me to Tokyo for a month or few.” Black eyes watched the frail frame warily. Before all this the Uzumaki had been a force of nature what with his proud posture and strong shoulders but now… the disease had stripped him of all strength that he had once held. Not that it stripped him of his preference in colour. The bandana around his head was a bright orange. It clashed horribly with the oxygen tube reaching inside his nostrils. “How’re you feeling, buddy?”  
  
His low question earned him another little smile.  
“Like I’ve been stuck at the hospital for a few months.” A too thin permanently tanned hand waved at the other. “You have no idea what I'd give for a walk in the park and a hot dog with everything on.”  
A dark brow rose slowly. Shika cast a calculating glance towards the nurse out in the hall. He offered the questioning man a smirk.  
“That… can be arranged.”  
  
-  
  
When they returned a few hours later, chaos had the ward in a firm grip. A **very** tired Shino was squatting in front of a chair… patting a bawling Inuzuka on the knee awkwardly while mumbling incoherent nonsense. A rather desperate nurse stood next to him with a glass of water having no idea what to say to the loudly crying man.  
Two stupefied men having just come out of the elevator blinked comically at the scene.  
  
“I didn’t even get to say goodbye!”  
“Say goodbye to whom?”  
“To Narutah-?” Red puffy eyes turned to the blinking Uzumaki… and then the bawling got louder than before. Questioning blue eyes turned to the shades wearer. After having lived with the man Naruto easily saw the signs of a rather evil smirk. If the whiskered man had had any brows they would’ve risen. Shikamaru rolled his eyes at the mess and with a sigh pushed the wheelchair forward.  
“You didn’t bother to correct him when he assumed the worst, did ya?”  
“Consider it payback for calling Naruto a dirty fag.” came the calm answer.  
“How troublesome.”  
“I was only changing the sheets!” the poor nurse pressed out. “Then he came in and suddenly started screaming!”  
  
All four of them turned to the brunet when Kiba collapsed out of the chair and still hulking kneeled in front of the wheelchair bound man to desperately grab once strong hands. Tears ran down tattooed cheeks when black slitted met bottomless blue.  
“I thought you were gone.” he sniffled. “When I saw her change that empty bed… I thought I was too late.”  
“I was only in the park with Shika.” the Uzumaki mumbled. “The nurse gave us permission as long as I had the IV, the oxygen mask and dressed warmly.” He eyed the other man tiredly. “You know… you're the only one who hasn’t visited me… until now. Even Hinata came a few times.”  
  
Shocked the Inuzuka blinked at the too thin man. Still with tears flowing he frowned.  
“…what?” he croaked.  
The bandana wearing man shrugged absentmindedly thanking the Nara for taking him to his room.  
“Everybody else has been here at least a few times each since they found out.” Naruto grunted when he heaved himself up on the bed already breathless from the effort. “Well, except Shika here but work **is** a valid reason, really.”  
Confused now Kiba sank down in the chair by the bed.  
“Ev- everybody?”  
  
“Neji spent an entire day with me, Ino brought that weird orchid over there, Sakura made the sweater I'm wearing, she wept enough to fill the vase while being at it and Lee played Xbox™ with me until my thumbs went numb, not to forget Chouji that brought enough pastries to feed a third world country… to name a few.” Azure eyes shot the silent Inuzuka a glance. “Everybody I know came… expect my best friend.”  
  
“What had you expected!?” Kiba suddenly snapped not noticing the ravens leaving the room. “I thought you had found a new best friend and then you suddenly hit me over the head with cancer! I was shocked, I was betrayed, I was-…”  
“What?” the Uzumaki asked lowly. “What were you?”  
“Scared.” The brunet flopped back down in the chair he had bounced out of and rubbed his face. “I was scared.” he muttered.  
“Guess what, so am I.”  
Once again black met blue, worried now.  
“Will you be okay?”  
  
Naruto smiled when he answered.  
“Some day.” he nodded. “I have Shino and a better support doesn’t exist.”  
The Inuzuka smiled too when he took a frail hand in his, gently this time.  
“You have me too.” He winked at the chuckle. “Can’t get rid of me, Narutard, just accept it.” Kiba swallowed hard then. “I'm sorry for everything, buddy.” he said lowly. “I was so angry and I wanted to hurt. I'm truly sorry for calling you a fag.”  
“Did Shino really punch you?”  
“He did.”  
“Did it hurt?”  
“Like a bitch.”  
“Then you're forgiven.” The Uzumaki huffed. “And I’ll have you know I'm very cleanly.”  
“More than me.”  
“Amen.”  
  
“Joke aside.” the brunet mumbled. “Whatever dude you'll introduce to me he better deserve you and he damn better make you happy too.” He patted the hand in his. “I’ll scare the crap out of him and if he passes the test, I’ll let him date you.”  
“Really?”  
“Really.” Kiba took a deep breath…and; “I proposed to Hinata.” he very nearly squeaked. “And I want you to give me away.”  
Stunned blue eyes blinked at him comically. For obvious reasons.  
  
“Don’t you mean you want me to be your best man?” Naruto asked hesitantly.  
The tattooed man shook his head slowly. The smile he wore got bigger, warmer.  
“No, I asked Shino to be my best man, you I want you to give me away to Hinata.” The Inuzuka swallowed the lump in his throat so he could continue. “I asked her if that was okay since she’s the bride and it’s her big day and all… and she said it was a wonderful idea.” A warm hand gently stroked a thin whiskered cheek. “So you better get well soon and walk me down the aisle, ya hear me?”  
“Loud and clear.” a teary Naruto mumbled. “Loud and clear.”  
Both men smiled cheekily at each other, like they had done a lifetime ago.  
“Good. So let’s beat this thing, shall we?”  
  
-  
  
More relieved than he thought to be possible Shino silently registered how the Uzumaki got stronger after Kiba's first visit, and his second… and third. The brunet visited as often as possible, probably more, trying his hardest to support his best friend… but it was in Shino's arms that Naruto cried. It was in his embrace that he broke down when it felt like too much, when nausea had him throwing up everything he had managed to eat and dry heaving left him completely drained. It was when bad days turned horrible because of the pain that he sought his only refuge in the shades wearer’s hold, in that warmth that no one else seemed to be able to offer. It was in those times that Shino truly felt as if he was meant for something, like he had a purpose.  
No, he didn’t waver regardless of when the call came, he always went to Naruto's side to be there.  
Never, never wavered. Because by the bed at home he had a picture of a man standing on a snowy mountain top staring out into a red sunrise… and he had promised himself never to let that man feel lonely ever again.  
  
-  
  
One year later…  
  
-  
  
“Are you really sure about this?” A thin blonde brow rose sceptically. “It’s not exactly conventional. And they're gonna laugh at you.”  
Kiba offered the taller male a warm smile not caring that a tear ran down a tattooed cheek. He gave his best friend a nod when tanned hands absentmindedly corrected his bowtie.  
“It’s the way we want it.” he said lowly. “Hinata and I. And the party after is as much for you as it is for us… Narutard.”  
“This is your **wedding** , Kibling.” Naruto sighed. “We can party when I reach that damn mountain top.” Blue eyes blinked when strong hands grabbed his arms and worried black eyes sought his. “What?”  
“Naruto, you’ve been cancer free for four months. That’s cause for celebration.” A dark brow rose. “And you better spend my wedding night together with that waiting Aburame out there. Hear me?”  
  
The Uzumaki's ears burned and what with his hair having finally started to grow back only a month or so ago, it was painfully visible. Even his scalp heated slightly.  
“Dammit, Kiba, I'm not-” he began but was as per usual, interrupted.  
“Hear me, Uzumaki?” the Inuzuka said firmly. “I want either of you to have trouble walking tomorrow morning and I prefer it to be him.” He waved his eyebrows cheekily. “I want all details, even the nasty ones.”  
Cobalt blue eyes nearly boggled.  
“We’re both men!” His slightly horrified outburst earned him a frown.  
“So? You're gay, aren't you?”  
“Do you even know how gay men have sex!?”  
  
Kiba shrugged turning towards the doors. He looked way too blasé considering the topic.  
“Sure I do.” he muttered. “You put your dick in Shino's ass after some rimming and then thrust away from here to eternity while making sure to hit his prostate so he moans and comes nicely for you.” He offered the shell-shocked, dumbstruck, and more than anything, humiliated beyond words, blonde a side glance. “Hinata writes gay porn and posts it on the net.” he explained. “She uses me as her proof-reader.”  
Right before the _‘Bridal Chorus’_ began he flashed the already beet red Uzumaki a wolfish grin. “Guess which couple inspired her to start writing?”  
“Oh Holy Mother…” He wouldn’t be able to look the usually shy Hyuuga in the eye!  
“He saw it and it was guuuud!” One black slitted eye winked. “Now give me away, Narutard. My bride is waiting for me by the altar.”  
  
Having said that two men walked down the aisle, one wearing black the other white… to where a bride smiled lovingly at her groom while the best man silently wondered about the intense pink on whiskered features.  
Well, he'd find out later because now they had all the time in the world, every single second was theirs.  
He smiled at the blonde not knowing what little engraved surprised waited in Naruto's vest pocket.  
Yup… **all** the time in the world.

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own Naruto, I don’t want to. Too troublesome. Neither do I profit from writing this fic.
> 
> It’s a slightly touchy subject so if you're going to start complaining about the physics, please keep it to yourself. Apart from that, please enjoy.
> 
> “Airplanes” © B.o.B, Hayley Williams and Eminem
> 
> I do NOT give permission to have any of my works put up on Goodreads or any other such site.


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